Deja vu

Ang Pagsisimula ng Wakas

Malea’s POV

“We hold this vigil for Betty and Ron and all other lives that had been lost that day. We pray that their souls are now accompanying God in heaven.”

Lahat ng estudyante roon ay may hawak na kandila upang mabigyan ng respeto ang pagkamatay nina Betty at Ron.

The silence in the audience broke when one of the jockeys said, “You don’t have to sugarcoat it because even though they’re dead, they were crackheads; selling drugs to students in the school. All of us here already know that they’re accompanying Satan in hell.”

Everyone laughed. kahit hindi naman nakakatawa ‘yong topic. Hindi ako ginanahan mag-stay roon kasi ang negative ng energy. I left the vigil to go to the cafe near the campus.

Habang papunta ako sa cafe, may humarang sa daan ko. It was Marcus, yung ex ko na niloko ako when I was 16. 16 ako no’n, emotions were still blurry for me, love was confusing. Marcus took advantage of my vulnerability and made me fall for him. Ang cringe, ‘di ba? It was a relationship that felt too perfect.

After that, Marcus left for Spain. He wanted to continue his career as a painter. He forgot about me, he didn’t message me nor did his family members reply. I was both broken and angry, he was everything to me. Ang cringe. Pero, now that I think of it, I really loved him. If it wasn’t mutual, then I’ll take my distance. It didn’t get to that point though.

Naaamoy ko 'yung cologne niya, ang tapang ng amoy. Hindi sobra, sakto lang. I have to admit it but I was obsessed with him. Pero after that, I realized na there’s no time for love. Love isn’t as easy as they portray in movies. Love isn’t in the air, my story wouldn’t be filled with love triangles and cringey scenes between two star-crossed lovers. It’s cliche.

Anyways, I did what anybody would do and ignored him. It seemed like the most logical and normal thing to do. It was refreshing to see him, good to see my standards are higher now. ‘Cause before, it was low.

I went inside the cafe. Good thing I did, ‘cause it suddenly started raining. The heavy rain resulted in people leaving the vigil early. I saw them running with their umbrellas, trying not to get wet.

“Miss! A hot cocoa, please?”. She nodded and went back to the barista to list my order.

After a few minutes, the barista came back with a steaming hot cocoa which is perfect, especially when it’s raining. I took a sip of the hot cocoa and relaxed for a bit, feeling all the peace and quietness for a moment. I felt happy.

I took out my laptop to work on my projects and activities for the week. Mr. Guillermo had been pressuring us all week. I opened my laptop and looked at all my unfinished activities and their deadlines.

Statistics and Probability - Friday

Media and Information Literacy - Thursday

General Mathematics - Monday next week

Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Filipino - Wednesday

Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions - Tuesday

That’s just five of the 20 I have this month. Finals are near, I really need to review.

Let me check my messages real quick.

A text message from Mama has beej received at 11:03PM

MALEA! Anong oras na, umuwi ka na! Isasarado ko na ang gate tignan mo. Ingat sa pag-uwi.

'Yon ang nakita ko sa message niya sa'kin. Nagagalit na siguro iyon dahil 11PM na. Hindi ko pa kasi natatapos ang sa CPAFTR, bukas na deadline, eh. I guess I'll finish it tonight.

I closed my laptop at nag-iwan ng bayad for the barista's tip. I left the cafe, the rain calmed down a bit. It was a bit cold but there wasn’t any heavy rain. Also, I have an umbrella in my backpack in case this type of situation happens.

I was heading home with Thea. Nagw-worry na kasi si Mama, so maaga kami umuwi. It’s 11:16 PM. Wow, no wonder Mama was so upset. My usual curfew is 10 PM when I have a deadline coming up, it’s 12 AM. My classes start at 8 AM so I have time to sleep properly.

Finally, I arrived at home. Thea and I parted ways. Since her house was near mine, we’re in the same villa. The night felt fast, quicker than usual. Maybe that’s just me.

10 minutes before the crime

Betty’s POV

“Anong gagawin natin? Hindi pa rin tumitigil, ayaw na ayaw ko na. Sumusuko na ako!” sigaw ko. I’m tired of hiding this secret, the pain of death I experienced every night. The sorrow, the sadness, and the harassment I feel by experiencing these people’s lives are unbearable!

“Hindi ‘to matatapos hangga’t hindi tayo namamatay. Iyon ang nag-iisang paraan upang matakasan ang parusang ito. A sacrifice has to be made, and it will be, that sacrifice will be us,” tugon ni Len, isa kong kaklase. Before this, she was positive, we all were. But this was too much for us to handle.

Naglabas ng baril si Queen, isa ko ring ka-close sa klase.

“It’s now or never. Let’s chant. This fear we experience, we give to you, in exchange for a life from you. A life with no pain, no sorrow, no death,” Queen chanted.

Clark, one of my classmates, spoke, “Isn’t that a chant praising Satan? We’re basically selling our souls to Satan.”

“It’s the only way, the only available option we have.” She said,

“This fear we experience, we give to you, in exchange for a life from you. A life with no pain, no sorrow, no death.”

Every chant gets louder and louder. Until a voice spoke—it’s Betty.

“May we meet again, next time, you will be next. You will have to make a choice between death or sorrow. Goodluck. Goodbye. Good riddance.”

This message was in the school speakers. Students must be aware of the problem, so when they encounter it, they know they have to make a choice. Life or Death choose now, die later.